CT4-V Rear wing is warping in the heat

[Soundman414]

So, a few months ago someone rear ended me at like 8 mph. The damage was minimal and the other person's insurance paid for the repairs at a very reputable body/repair shop.

For some reason, they removed and reinstalled the rear wing. After they did, the wing warped when in direct sunlight and the adhesive would be stuck to the body and the wing in different spots.

I took it back to them and they redid it and told me they took their time and tried really hard to make sure it was cleaned, prepped, and adhered well. One week later and its doing the same thing again. Pics below (it's an iphone, so they aren't great.)

So before just going back to them again, I wanted to ask here for any tips, tricks, best-practices, etc regarding this.

@WONT TAP I know you install the CF wings at your shop, have you seen this before? Is there a special tape that GM uses that a body shop wouldn't have? Is there some special bolt tightening pattern for avoiding this?

Thanks in advance all

 

[DustinEarnhardt]

I removed and reinstalled mine and used 3M auto body tape and it's held up for two years in the South Carolina heat and still going strong.

https://a.co/d/5Uugfc3

I would double check the "cleaned it off really well" claim. The OEM stuff is nasty-level sticky and took me hours to clean off with Goo Gone. It wouldn't surprise me if a shop didn't necessarily put that kind of effort in.

 

[MatthewAMEL]

I have used nothing but this for the last few years. Does an amazing job and absoutely does not damage paint.

If they didn't use the wheel, they didn't get it all.

https://a.co/d/bYZzH2X

BTW - I used a similar process when removing OEM spoiler and installing the CF one.

 

[G.Newt]

On my previous cars, I would use Gorilla tape (heavy duty mounting tape). https://a.co/d/3E9fTED
Holds up to 30lbs and is some heavy duty stuff.

 

[jonnywaffles11]

My hunch is that they did clean everything off really well, but may have reused the OEM push connectors at the edges and they may have been damaged and not allowing for proper retention. They also may have either bent the wing a bit when removing which is causing it to flex up in the front, or over torqued the bolts which are all in the rear and caused it to be overly biased towards the rear. I would suggest pushing for a new spoiler to be sourced and installed as there may have been damage during removal that is leading to what you see.

 

[rubberduck]

I can’t tell from the pictures, is this a CF spoiler? If not there are no nuts.

 

[BR 462]

The shop who installed PPF on my 4BW also said the OEM adhesive was a pain and took awhile to fully remove after uninstalling the spoiler. They had to try more than once to get the spoiler to sit flush again without the new tape showing at the edge. Also, as I understand, there are nuts on all but the 2 outside bolts; those attach with clips…. which broke. So they found nuts that matched and fastened the outside bolts just like all the others. Worked great, looks tight, no issues.

 

[Soundman414]

Well, seems like it's on me. I went for a third time and they tried again... within an hour it was warping. Shop manager said at the very end that if I want to bring a replacement wing from cadillac, they'd be happy to install. *rolls eyes*

So, I think I'll give it a shot with what all of you suggested, later this summer.

 

[FLYARMY]

The one and only thing that is guaranteed to hold that wing down, is panel bond. Its a two part epoxy that is used to attach roofs and other body parts. The only issue that may arise, is that if you ever have to take the wing off again, you can forget about ever using it again. You will cause irreprable damage to the part. One and done.